Keep guns locked away from children

Published 12:59 pm, Wednesday, November 15, 2017

No surprise — after Newtown — that guns are the second leading cause of death among teens and children nationally (Annals of Emergency Medicine report). That’s why Norwalkers need to care about safety in homes where guns are present.

There are as many guns in the USA as people — over 300 million. If that ratio works here, we have some 80,000 guns around somewhere. Since 2000, our Police Department has issued 2,097 permits (TrendCT.org), even though it is not easy to complete the requirements (see Norwalk Police Department website — Forms section — Pistol Permit).

Most of these guns, one trusts, are owned by responsible folks who know how to keep them safely locked away. If you have both guns and kids at home, ask the kids if they know where the guns are; in this case you might indeed be surprised.